Page 13 of No Escape
A knock came at the door. “You fall again?” Dayton called out.
“No. I’m fine.” Splashing a little water on my face, I wiped it on the questionably clean towel and opened the bathroom door. The smell hit me again causing my stomach to grumble. “What’s for breakfast?”
Stepping aside, he waved me past him.
Sitting on the small wooden desk was a bag of McDonald's and two medium glasses of orange juice.
“I don’t?—”
My stomach grumbled a second time, loud enough to break the silence in the room.
As if reading my mind, he stated. “It’s what we have.”
Opening the bag, the smell of greasy goodness assaulted my nostrils. It smelled like heaven. Licking my lips, I snatched one of the breakfast sandwiches from the bag and a hash brown. Grabbing the orange juice in my free hand, I sat cross-legged in the center of the bed. Placing my drink on the nightside table, I began to unwrap the sandwich.
“It’s a bacon and egg McMuffin. Hope that’s okay?”
“It’s been over three years since I’ve had McDonalds.”
He laughed. “You’re fucking with me.” Unwrapping his sandwich he took a big bite.
“Nope.” Removing the top bun, I inspected the processed cheese and bacon before putting the top back on. “Being a model and actress isn’t all glitz and glamor. It requires you to maintain an image. Women are expected to be walking clothes racks with perfect tits and asses. You gain a couple of pounds and you’ve got a half a dozen people riding your ass telling you you’re getting fat. It fucks with you after a while.”
“Sorry, couldn’t do it. I love the grease, sugar, and salt too much.”
I looked him up and down. The black t-shirt stretched across his broad chest and thick biceps. I’d seen last night how defined his abdominal muscles were. Men in Hollywood worked out daily to maintain the form he was currently in. Yet, I didn’t see him as a gym rat type of guy. His physique came from a lifetime of physical training via hard labor. At least that was my guess.
Taking a bite, I hesitated before chewing it. As I began to chew there was a wave of sheer bliss that passed through me as the mixture of fat and salt delighted my senses. But mixed with the orgasmic taste came a wave of shame for indulging in something that could make me undesirable in the public eye.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s delicious. Too delicious.”
There was seriously something wrong with me when I couldn’t even eat fast food once and not feel shame. I shrugged the feeling off. My gaining weight was a problem for another day.
He cocked a brow at me, his dark eyes confused. “So, what’s the problem?”
“I’ve spent years being told I couldn’t touch this. Years of reading about myself in magazines or on social media criticizing everything from the shade of blonde of my hair to the fact my hips are just a little too plump. I’ve been willingly brainwashed into thinking that anything less than perfection is unacceptable.” I caught his gaze and shrugged, shooting him a lopsided smile. “Poor little rich girl problems, right?”
Finishing off the sandwich, his features softened. “People can be cruel to people they’re jealous of.”
I nodded. “That’s for sure.” I took another bite from the sandwich. Damn, it was good.
“I need to ask you something.”
“Shoot.”
“What were you talking about last night? About these secret parties and gatherings of the elite?”
Shit…
Pulling my lower lip between my teeth I considered what I could and should tell him. If they thought I kept my mouth shut then perhaps I had a chance. If they felt that I could remain silent then there was a slim chance I could get out of this alive. If I told him what I knew then who knows what would happen. “I think it’s better for the both of us if you forget I even mentioned it.”
The world should know… A voice in the back of my mind nagged. You need to do the right thing...
Lives were at stake.
So many families had been torn apart due to the information I’d just acquired.
